London Gaming Con - this weekend!

Just a quick note to say that I will be attending the London Gaming Con for both days this very weekend! It might not be a comic event, but there'll certainly be an otaku-vibe in the hall so it should be a good event for checking out comics, artwork and merchandise alongside all the gaming content.

This time I'll be sharing a table with the amazing Yuri Kore who will be there with her wares. Come say hi! :-)

October MCM Expo Complete!

The event ended yesterday and I'm feeling pretty drained right now - but the event went well! ^_^

It was really busy (ignore the photo for that - it was taken well before opening) and it was nice to see both new returning faces. Japanofail continued its reign as my most popular comic, but Beholder of the Eye put in a pretty respectable performance. Thanks for popping by guys and if you went away with one of my comics I hope you enjoyed it!

That's it for this year! The next event I'm attending is the London Anime Con in February and will keep an eye out for other events for the rest of 2012 as well. :-) Time to hibernate and start thinking about what comics to make next - will keep you posted!

MCM London Expo this weekend!

We're just a few days away from the event now, so thought a general run through of what to expect from my table on the day.

Firstly is that I have two new comics out on the day. More hacking and slashing with issue 4 of Beholder of the Eye and also a brand spanking new issue of Japanofail.

I still have a complete range of comics on the table, so will be offering multi-buy bundle deals for those who fancy stocking up on a few of my comics. ;-)

I will be there all 3 days of the event (remember entrance on Friday is only for those with full weekend tickets), so please feel free to come say hi. The guys at the comic village have released a map of where to find artists on the day (I've marked my location below) - hope to see you all soon!

New things!

Just a quick note to say I've got a few new badge designs in circulation that will be appearing at London Expo NEXT WEEKEND! (Not long now!)

A weird wibbly monster is accompanied badges of WIN and FAIL!

They'll be appearing along with my older designs (of which I have replenished the stock of pandas!) at 50p each or 3 for £1.

1 week to go - hope to see people there! ^_^

Japanofail 5

Here it is - the fifth issue of Japanofail is done and dusted! Yet more instances of geek-related fail with perhaps a slightly more twisted streak. That said, if you've come this far I doubt there's much that can shock you now!

The comics came in from the printer this afternoon and are good to go for Expo at the end of the month, and is now available on the shop! :-)

Please look out for it!

Japanofail relaunch!

Yep, it's been a while since Japanofail ground to a halt in webcomic form, so I just decided to relaunch it over at smackjeeves.

The first run on drunkduck only got as far as the end of issue 2, so there's plenty of fuel in the tank for updates. I'll be uploading all the previous stuff fairly rapidly, but then intend to resume normal services on both accounts at a more regular pace.

Please check it out! :-)

Bit of other news here as well: I'm currently working on issue 5 of Japanofail as well. So far it's on course for Expo next month, so will update again once I'm nearer completion. ;-)

Beholder of the Eye 4 - Photos

This just came in the post, so thought it might be nice to share some photos. As I have them, they are now fully available on the shop and are 100% for appearing at future comic events.

Beholder of the Eye 4 is complete!

This was sent out to the printers last night, so hopefully over the next week or so I should have these soon! It's my biggest comic yet (48 pages) and contains lots of drama, action and other general craziness. :-)

I've booked a table for London Expo, so this are definitely going to be making an appearance. It is also available on my shop for those who can't make that event. Please look out for it! :D

Byrde Chapter 2

The concluding part to Byrde has just been printed in issue 4 of Non-Repro. It's a silly little story that was a lot of fun to draw about a hungry bird who's desperate for some food. Like before, it is accompanied by a range of other cool comics.

Please check it out. It is available to buy here now and at future coimc events.

Beholder of the Eye 4 is coming!

Just wanting to start a little hype for Beholder of the Eye 4 as I'm getting toward the end of it now. It's going to be a thicker comic - 42 pages - making it my longest one yet! :-O

I've been working hard on this, so please look forward to it as it should be ready in the next month or so. :-)

July London Anime Con - Complete!

So the London Anime Con went down last weekend... and it was really good!

It was one of my best days EVER for selling comics as many people were checking out my comics and buying multiple comics as opposed to single issues. o_0; You guys are awesome and I really hope you enjoyed what you went home with. I feel encouraged to work harder and get some new comics out there as soon as I can! (as laways I have plans...)

Thanks goes to Kam of CityAsia who is a far better salesman than me, encouraging people to browse my comics and help spread the word. It's totally worth checking out his website as alongside a sturdy range of Japanese import goods they also stock independant designer toys as well!

I'll be busy the next couple of months working on some new things. If you're attending Ayacon I'll be around if you want to say hi. I've not got a dealer's table but will most likely have a couple comics to hand for showing in the Artist's Alley. ;-) Hope to see you there!

Will update again when there's news to be told!

Summer events.

Time for a general update as I'll be attending a couple events over the summer. At the end of July I'll be having a table at the London Anime Con. This'll be my second time in a row attending so if this keeps up it'll become a regular thing. So basically if you missed out on Expo you'll get another chance this month! Be aware that while the event runs for 2 days, (30-31st July), I'll only be there for sunday 31st only! The Saturday's given to the merchandise dealers, while the small press crew tag in for the second day. It's a lively event, so is worth checking out!

Next up is Ayacon which is running 19th-21st August. I won't have a table in the dealers room and will mainly be attending as a regular punter, however there will be an artists alley which people can drop in/out of at will so I intend to hang out there whenever I need a breather. I rarely go outside of London events so this is a chance to see some lesser spotted comics! I can only carry a few thing with me, so if anyone has any requests for specific titles feel free to drop me a line either here or on twitter.

That's it for now. I hope to get a spot at London Expo again in October, but nothing's confirmed yet. Will update again as and when things happen!

May London Expo 2011 - Complete!

The event ended on Sunday, and I'm uploading this on Tuesday night - this is how intense the event was! On Saturday, we were joined by Anna who filled the table with infinitely shiny comics and artwork. (I should've taken a picture when she was there...)

It was a really fun event this time and a lot of cool people were around. Many people who dropped by the table were those coming back after having read my comics from earlier events. That people are returning to read more of my work is a true honour. Thanks you all so much - I'll work hard on new things for you!

The most popular comic by far was the new Japanofail 4 - which sold pretty much the same as all my other comics put together! o_o;

So that's Expo done with for now - the next event up is London Anime Con which will be my second time exhibiting there in a row. I doubt there'll be anything new ready for that event, but if you missed out this time either there or my shop is the place to go!

I'm working on a couple different comics at the moment, but nothing ready for showing to the world just yet. It'll keep me ticking over for the next few months at least. ^_^

London Expo May 2011!

Okay, so London Expo is just a couple of days away now so it's time for a quick summary just before the chaos starts.

I'll be there on all three days, so if you went and bought a full weekend pass you can find me either then, or at any other time when the event kicks off proper for Saturday and Sunday.

This time my table will be shared with the awesome and sparkling Anna Fitzpatrick of Between Worlds fame - come say hi!

All of my comics are still available for checking out including anthologies Six and Till the Sun Grows Cold. Japanofail 4 and Beholder of the Eye 3 (preview above) are making their debut so even if you're familliar with my work there's still new things to see! Also worth a visit are the guys at NonRepro who now have two of my comics in print (found in issue 3 and their brand spanking new Nami Anthology - but all their stuff is worth a look!).

So that's it for now I guess - see you on the other side!

New Comic! A Stormy Date

My entry to last year Manga Jiman competition 'A Stormy Date' has been printed in a special edition of Non-Repro. My comic's about 8 pages long, and is one of many found within the book.

I'm looking forward to getting a copy at the London Expo at the end of this month as there' a lot of cool comics in there (you may also spot a couple of familiar faces from last year's Till the Sun Grows Cold ^_^). If you can't make it to the event, the book is being made available on their shop here. Please check it out!

A quick preview:

Beholder of the Eye 3!

There's been a fair gap between issues but issue 3 of Beholder of the Eye is here and good to go!

Carrying on immediately after the end of issue 2 Chloe and Luthor are on the run after their operations are discovered. Taking stock and trying to decide what to do next, they find themselves sucked into a path of no return...

Available at events (London Expo next month!) and at my shop!

Japanofail Issue 4!

Here it is - the super shiny 4th issue of Japanofail has arrived! ^_^

In terms of content, the same rules apply, but this time it's slightly bigger at 28 pages and is therefore filled with more fail than ever before! Price will be £2.50 at events (London Expo next month will be its first appearance), and a little more online once it's been added. Please look forward to it!
The comic is available from my shop! ^_^

Portfolio Site

I just recently (about 30 seconds again fact) launched a portfolio site for my work. I don't have a deviantart account, and this place is more for news and stuff, so thought it an idea to have a proper place to collect some of my artwork.

It's a little small at the moment, but intend to build on it over time. If you want to check it out, you can find it on this link:

Ushio Art

The Suspense!

Okay, we're getting pretty close to new comics arriving now. I'm a bit fidgety waiting for the finals copies to show up so in the meantime will start to leak info. First up is Beholder of the Eye 3 which will look something like this:

Bit of a departure from the usual shenanigans, but suits the general tone of the comic imo. It's more of a character-driven issue this time before it heads back into the fray.

Alongside that, I'm also waiting for this:

Yes! Japanofail 4 is done! XD I had a spare week off work and a bunch of ideas to use so was able to run through this pretty quickly.

Both comics are coming from different printers. Which will arrive first? Hopefully I'll have them in the next week or so and once they're with me I'll start giving more as well as add them to the shop. Not long now, and currently well in time for Expo next month! ^_^

More updates

Just a few things:

- Beholder of the Eye 3 is complete! Has been for a while actually, just a case of waiting for the hardcopies to arrive and then I can announce it properly. ^_^ I took some risks with it (when don't I? haha) so am hoping it comes out well!

- I'm currently working on Japanofail 4, which is coming on pretty well. I'm going all out and it's well over halfway done already. Just a matter on time really but it's looking good for appearing at London Expo as well.

- I've signed up for a table at the London Anime Con once again. I'll have a table on the Sunday only as this is the day when all the artists come in.

That's it for now! ^_^

New Comic! Byrde

Just out last weekend was Issue 3 of Non-Repro, a small press magazine that prints short comics from various creators - and I've got a comic in it! :-D

Byrde is a non-dialogue comic about a hungry bird who's out hunting for food. It's the first of two parts and a little bit of fun. There are several other comics and articles in the mag, so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Please check it out here:

Non-Repro Shop

London Comic & Small Press Expo - Complete!

Got back from this a little earlier today. It was only the first time this event was run and I thought it went pretty well. It's a nice, bright and spacious venue with a friendly atmosphere that lasted throughout the day. It was good to be able to talk to people a bit more than what I'm normally able, which was a definite plus. ^_^

I had actually had a new comic appearing at this event. I'm informed it will be available online very soon so will update in a couple of days about that. Stay tuned!

Six Anthology - Reviewed!

Just a quick post to link to a review of the Six Anthology. I've never had a title reviewed publicly before, but the comments that are made are really encouraging. Check out the review here.

I'd recommend keeping an eye on this site as it's proving itself to be a bit of a stronghold for supporting and promoting local artists. So if you want to keep track of some of the titles appearing on the UK scene, this is a good place to check out! ^_^

Progress...

Just a short post on general progress. Beholder of the Eye 3 is nearly there. All but one of the pages are inked and I'm now filling in general gaps, tones and trying to get things finished off. Not got a front cover sorted either, so still a little more to go!

It's the London Comic and Small Press Expo in a couple weeks time as well! Sorry to say the new comic won't be done in time for it, but it'll a cert for London Expo!

Got one or two more tricks up my sleeve over the next couple of months as well - will announce as and when things are in stone! ^_^

London Anime Con - Complete!

Just got back from this and it went okay. Well, actually I can never tell how these things go as I'm always a bundle of overtiredness and nerves. But I wasn't punched or anything so it must've been fine! XD

Next Event: London Comic and Small Press Expo! About a month to go. Will try and get some sleep by then. ;-)

Also in unrelated news I've started a manga reviewing blog for fun. It won't be anything too in-depth really, but for the general scoop on a wide/weird range of titles, I might land on something you fancy.

Events - pimp special!

Hey ho!

So we're halfway through January and happenings are already underway as events are already looming on the horizon!

In a couple weeks is the London Anime Con which is running on the 5-6h February. Sunday is the artists' day, so I'll be there with a table of comics then. All you London folks please feel free to drop by! ^_^

I've also just registered a table for May London Expo this year! XD Quite a way to go until this one, but it's nice to know I'm good for a table so early in advance as it's something to aim for when working on comics.

In between these events nestle the London Comic & Small Press Expo on 12th March. This is a new event running for the first time this year, so it will be interesting to see what it's like!

Sorry that all of these events are London-based, but if you can't make it and are interested the shop is in full working order!

That's it for events, so what about the comics? There's nothing I can show really at the moment, but I'm working properly on Beholder of the Eye 3 right now. The pencils are finished and I recently started inking it, so fingers crossed it will be making an appearence over the next couple of months. I've also got a couple of other *finished* mini comics that have been sent out to be published elsewhere, and so will update once things are looking all shiny and official.

So all in all, the events are set with more news to come once the new comics are ready! ^_^

Shop updated!

Yep, I've gone and updated my comics shop and have added both the Six anthology and Japanofail 3 to the site. If you're interested, please go to:

http://www.ushiocomics.co.uk/

All the older titles are still on there as well, so you'll have to scroll down to see the newer stuff. ^_^

Level 2010 complete! New mission start!

There's been an art meme doing the rounds about the drawing you did in 2010, so I thought I'd give it a go. ^_^ I've done quite a lot of stuff looking back, but as ever there are regrets and many things I'd like to improve on. No shortcuts here - I just gotta keep working and trying harder!

I suppose I've got no massive aims for 2011, just to keep doing my best... just more so! XD Anyhoo, enough looking at the past - time to move on! ^__^